Subaru’s new BRZ sports car promises to thrill

Car enthusiasts will be spoiled for choice when affordable new machines reach local showrooms in coming months.

Subaru’s reborn BRZ will be one of the most affordable sports cars in Australia when it arrives next year.

Priced from $38,990 plus on-road costs in manual form, the new sports car undercuts rivals such as the Ford Mustang and Nissan Z by a handy margin.

The 2021 Subaru BRZ will be one of the cheapest sports cars on sale.

It also makes the machine significantly cheaper than hot hatch alternatives such as the new VW Golf GTI that costs almost $60,000 on the road.

But a decision to stuff the coupe with equipment leaves plenty of room for Toyota to undercut its Japanese twin with a cut-price entry-level Toyota GR 86.

As before, Subaru and Toyota are technical partners for the compact sports cars.

The Subaru BRZ shares its looks and core hardware with Toyota’s GR 86.

Built in the same factory, the pair have the same fundamental hardware, with small styling, suspension tuning and equipment differences separating them.

A new 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine has 170kW and 249Nm – more than the 152kW/212Nm produced by the previous 2.0-litre unit – but misses out on the turbocharged shove many customers expected.

Customers can choose between six-speed automatic and manual transmissions.

The 2021 Subaru BRZ has a digital dash and large infotainment screen.

Standard equipment includes LED headlights, 18-inch wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres, a digital dashboard and 8-inch infotainment screen with smartphone mirroring.

Manual versions get blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and lane-change assistance.

A high-grade BRZ S with heated leather seats adds $1200 to the bill.

The two-pedal option priced $3800 upstream of both models gets a regular torque converter transmission (as opposed to a quick-shifting dual-clutch gearbox), as well as driver aids such as auto emergency braking and reverse auto breaking that are difficult to integrate in manual models.

Manual BRZ versions miss out on some driver aids.

While manual transmissions are hard to find in new cars, Subaru expects many enthusiasts to choose to change their own gears. Experience with the original BRZ and 86 suggests the three-pedal version will be a far more engaging machine.

Subaru is promising a “raw analog driving experience”, with thrilling rear-wheel-drive handling characteristics.

Supply constraints put in place by a host of issues including global semiconductor shortages, shipping delays and the coronavirus pandemic could make the car hard to get.

The manual BRZ promises to be more fun to drive.

Almost 3000 customers registered interest in the machine, but only 500 examples will arrive in the first batch due locally in early 2021.

Customers can buy the car online or through their local dealer.

The brand is considering special events and experiences for customers, as already made available to people who buy rival machines such as the Hyundai i30 N or Toyota GR Yaris.

Subaru is a smaller company that might struggle to match Toyota’s bonuses.

Toyota’s high-profile 86 is the basis for an affordable racing series supporting Supercars races such as the Bathurst 1000, and the brand also goes rallying at home and abroad wit the Yaris city car.

Subaru Australia general manager Blair Read said Subaru had a “definite desire” to return to competition, but that it must be the “right fit for the brand”.

While Subaru stopped rallying locally in 2019, the manufacturer’s local boss said: “I don’t think that means the end of Subaru in competition”.

Originally published as Subaru’s new BRZ sports car promises to thrill